JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A study by a real estate company said U.S. home sellers are sitting on nearly $700 billion worth of listings. Jacksonville ranks fifth in the nation as a buyer’s market.
The study done by Redfin is based on an analysis of listings going back to 2012. Redfin said that dollar amount is up 20% from a year ago and is the highest ever.
Officials attributed that to the combination of a growing inventory, slowing demand, and increasing home-sale prices.
But not everyone in Florida agrees with that label.
Blake Bowmaster is trying to sell his home on Julington Creek.
“It’s been going a little bit slower than we thought. I think interest rates might have something to do with that,” Bowmaster said.
Housing supply is at a five-year high, with many more sellers than buyers in the housing market. The total number of homes on the market rose 16.7% year over year in April to its highest level in five years, with the mortgage-rate lock-in effect easing and homeowners trying to cash out due to economic uncertainty.
Redfin said the typical home that sold in April took 40 days to go under contract, which is five days longer than a year earlier.
Home sales are also declining and Redfin said buyers are backing off due to record-high monthly housing costs and widespread economic instability.
The median U.S. home-sale price rose 1.4% year over year in April. The total value of inventory is up by 20.3% year over year.
Jacksonville ranks fifth in the nation as a buyer’s market with 14,479 sellers and 6,598 buyers. The median home sale price is $368,311.
Redfin said in February, Florida saw housing inventory hit the highest level on record because it has been building more homes than any state but Texas.
Laila Hassan, a realtor with Engel & Volkers, said she disagrees with Redfin’s report that there’s a buyer’s market in Jacksonville.
“We’re still seeing movement, I’m still selling listings pretty quickly. I just had one sell in 11 days, so no, I disagree with that completely,” Hassan said.
Mario Gonzales, the 2025 president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, said he disagrees with the report as well. He and Hassan called the Jacksonville housing market “balanced,” which means it’s neither a buyer’s nor a seller’s market right now.
“I think the numbers in the Redfin report, they show a little bit higher than what we’re showing here,” Gonzales said. “Right now, we have 4.8 months of supply so that means if home sales kept selling at the current rate, it would take 4.8 months to run that out. Now when we talk about a buyer’s or a seller’s market, if we are within about four to five months of supply. We call that a balanced market.”
Redfin said sellers outnumber buyers because it’s expensive to buy a home, there’s economic uncertainty, and the mortgage rate lock-in is easing.
“When rates went up, a lot of people were priced out of the market, I mean, but I still think that we’re seeing a consistent level of buyers in the market right now,” Hassan said. “Jacksonville isn’t really one size fits all. You have some areas that might be a buyer’s market, but for the most part, you have a lot of areas in Jacksonville that I would say is more balanced.”
Florida is also dealing with intensifying natural disasters, which have caused home insurance costs to rise and prompted homeowners to leave the state. Soaring HOA fees are causing many Florida condo owners to sell as well.
The study also said the median sale price in Jacksonville fell 3.4% year over year in April, which is the biggest decline in the country aside from Oakland, CA.
